A twice-weekly syndicated newspaper column on California public affairs.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

NEW WATER BATTLE PITS POT VS. FISH

CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015, OR THEREAFTER

BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“NEW WATER BATTLE PITS POT VS. FISH”

As the state moves toward taxing
marijuana growers for the first time, those same growers also are starting to
face restrictions on water use, just like farmers of more conventional crops.

One reason is that the water
consumption of pot farms has caused serious depredations of salmon and trout
runs in several Northern California streams, most notably the Eel River and its
tributary streams in the so-called “Emerald Triangle” of Mendocino, Humboldt
and Trinity counties. Marijuana has long been the largest cash crop in that
region.

It’s not that a single cannabis plant
is much more thirsty than other crops. One plant, according to many reports,
can take anywhere from six to 15 gallons per day, about as much as a corn plant
and not nearly as much as it takes to produce, say, a single one-pound
beefsteak or the denim needed to make a pair of jeans.

But when the estimated 30,000 pot
growers in the area – most claiming to grow only medicinal marijuana – are done
watering on any typical day, they have often used more than 720,000 gallons of
water.

One question might be, “And for what?”
The detrimental mental and motivational effects of regular pot smoking are at
least as well-known and well-researched as the medical and palliative
benefits on the positive side of the weed.

But while virtually all other water
users in California have suffered drought-related cutbacks over the last year,
the often-clandestine nature of pot farming has left it without similar
restrictions.

This may be about to end. For the
first time, a system of regulating medical marijuana growers statewide was
signed into law this fall. That came after Republican George Runner, an
ultraconservative former state senator now serving on the state’s
tax-administration Board of Equalization, opined that California should levy an
excise tax on medipot, and use the money to fight marijuana-related crimes,
like poaching on public lands and draining streams dry.

Some streams have dried up in part
because of drought, but also because many growers pump water regularly to large
storage tanks which have lately dotted the landscape in some rural areas. They
supply water for terraced planting that has produced erosion into streams,
creating other problems.

One reason there are no controls: The
Emerald Triangle features thousands of acres owned by timber companies and other
large property holders who rarely, if ever, patrol their holdings. So pot
growers brazenly squat on the land, often setting booby-traps in their
immediate vicinity and bringing in crews of undocumented laborers from Central
America. Nicaragua is reportedly a major source of such labor.

One result is that fish runs essential
to survival of coho salmon and steelhead trout can end as young fish are left
high and dry, literally fish out of water.

Plus, growers often use pesticides and
rat poisons with little regard for whether they drain back into stream beds and
future water supplies, or for whether poisoned animals and insects enter the
food chain after being eaten by birds.

Enter the North Coast Regional Water
Quality Control Board, whose jurisdiction runs north from Marin County to the
Oregon state line. Calling it a “first step” toward protecting water resources,
that board voted 5-1 in late summer to compel growers to register their
operations and operate with environmental responsibility. That could mean
restrictions on water use, as well as protecting streams and wildlife from
contamination.

The new regulations, billed as a pilot
program that will spread to the rest of the state if successful, don’t aim to
arrest growers and in fact provide ways for them to screen their identities
from officers out to enforce federal laws still outlawing all pot
production.

“We are not endorsing marijuana
cultivation” one board member said. But the board is officially recognizing
widespread growing which often disregards county-set limits on the number of
medipot plants one person may raise.

In this battle of fish vs. pot, it’s
clear the weed is winning for now, but at least the plight of the salmon and
trout has been officially recognized for the first time.

-30-
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book,
"The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the
Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover
fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net

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About Me

Thomas Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column, appearing twice weekly in 88 newspapers around California, with circulation over 2.2 million.
He has won numerous awards from organizations like the National Headliners Club, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Los Angeles Press Club, and the California Taxpayers Association. He has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize in distinguished commentary.
Elias is the author of two books, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government's Campaign to Squelch It" (now in its third edition; also published in Japanese and recently optioned for a television movie) and "The Simpson Trial in Black and White," co-authored with the late Dennis Schatzman.